The invention relates to a connector for high frequency signals, comprising a housing of insulating material and a plurality of male contact elements, said housing having a bottom and two opposite side walls extending upwardly from the bottom, the bottom and side walls determining a receiving space, wherein the bottom is provided with cavities regularly arranged in rows and columns, wherein each of the contact elements is mounted in a cavity, an upper end of each contact element projecting into the receiving space, and further relates to a method for manufacturing a connector.
In a connector of the above-mentioned type the contact elements are mounted in the housing by inserting the contact elements into the cavities and the contact elements are fixed by deforming the material of the housing. Further, it is known to use a number of the male contact elements as ground contact elements to provide a shielding for the signal contact elements. In this manner the number of contact elements which can be used as signal contact elements significantly decreases so that the signal density of the connector is relatively low.
The invention aims to provide an improved connector of the above-mentioned type which can be made in different embodiments without complicating the manufacturing.
To this end the connector according to the invention is characterized in that the bottom of the housing comprises first and second bottom parts, wherein the cavities extend through both bottom parts, wherein at least a plurality of said cavities have a first stop in the first bottom part and a second stop in the second bottom part, said first and second stops determining a mounting chamber, wherein the contact elements are mounted in the cavities by means of at least one support element clampingly received between the first and second stops in the corresponding mounting chamber.
In this manner a connector is obtained wherein the connector can be made in different embodiments by varying the design of the second bottom part and contact elements only. During manufacturing only minor forces are exerted on the contact elements so that deformation of the contact elements due to high insertion forces during manufacturing is avoided with certainty. Further, a stable fixation of the contact elements by means of their support elements clampingly received between the first and second stops is guaranteed.
According to a preferred embodiment at least a plurality of the cavities are metallized at their the inner walls, the support elements of the contact elements mounted in the metallized cavities being made of insulating material. In this manner signal density can be increased significantly as all contact elements can be used as signal contact elements which are surrounded by the metallization of the, inner wall of the cavity functioning as outer conductor thereby providing a shielding of the signal contact element.
The invention further provides a method for manufacturing a connector, comprising the steps of providing a housing part with a bottom and two side walls extending upwardly from the bottom part, the bottom having a plurality of cavities arranged in rows and columns, providing the cavities with first and second stops, providing a plurality of contact elements with support elements, mounting the contact elements in the cavities of the bottom by clamping the support element(s) of each contact element between the first and second stops.